Understanding the impact of child poverty

We can’t understand or fix child poverty without listening to babies, children, and young people who have lived through it.

That’s why their ideas and stories were a big part of the 2025 Director of Public Health Report.

In April 2025, the Public Health Team asked community groups in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to help us understand how child poverty affects people. 24 groups ran creative projects about child poverty. They worked with babies, children and young people all over the county using art, collage, poetry, and other creative ways for them to share their feelings and about growing up in poverty, you can see all the projects here.

Health and Happiness Artwork

Children and young people in schools and youth groups were invited to draw or describe what ‘health and happiness’ means to them. This activity was not designed to document children’s direct experiences of poverty. Instead, it aimed to capture what children in Cornwall and The Isles Of Scilly feel they need to be able thrive and has helped to shape our recommendations for action.

A call to action

To complete the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2025, we brought together the key themes shared across the engagement activities into an open letter. This letter reflects the voices of babies, children, and young people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. They describe what it’s like to grow up in poverty, how it affects their lives, and the changes they want to see. The letter is a call to action, asking for meaningful steps to reduce poverty and its impact in their communities.